Pay It Forward

Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness;

and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge self-control;

and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance,

godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness...

2 Peter 1:5-7a

Crystal Ray describes herself as a "...naturally kind and compassionate" individual, and is a firm believer in doing good deeds - paying it forward.  She believes that those who are generous and do good deeds are rewarded in many, many ways.  Several years ago, she contributed to Yahoo News a list of 15 good deeds that can be done today to help those in our community and our world.  They bear repeating:

1. Do you have books you no longer read?  Keep them out of the landfill by donating them to a school, your local library, or an elderly care facility.
2. Elderly people who live alone are often lonely.  Take a few moments today and call an elderly friend or loved one.  Let them know you are thinking of them.
3. Leave your extra pennies in the penny container at the local gas station.
4. If you read an online article that makes a difference in your life, leave a positive comment.
5. Donate a bag of dog or cat food to your local animal shelter AND a bag of human food to a food pantry.
6. Let someone go ahead of you in line at the store.
7. Donate your change to a worthy charity at a local retail business.  Pennies and nickles add up faster than you think!
8. Hold the door for someone else and let them go ahead.  Just because other people aren't polite doesn't mean you shouldn't be.
9. Wild birds provide beautiful songs and visual pleasure that add to the splendor of our world.  Make a place to provide water and birdseed, especially during the winter months.
10. Our throwaway society is being overrun with trash.  Recycle, Recycle, Recycle.  Never tell yourself that you don't have time to bother. Good deeds that help future generations are some of the most important ones of all.
11.  Donate gently-used clothing and other household items to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or another local charity.  Then become a thrift store shopper.  You will be amazed at what you can purchase there.
12. Tell the attendant at the toll booth Thank You and Have a nice day!
13. Ask your child's teacher a)what items they need in the classroom, and b)how you can help.
14. The next time you see a teenager, smile and say Hi!  They may appear to look straight through you, but their brain will have processed the kind gesture.
15. Smile (instead of glaring) at the young mother in the grocery store whose child is throwing a tantrum.  She needs all the encouragement she can get!   

No Quick Fix

Copyright 2012:  singneronthesand

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness;

and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, 

self-control; and to self-control, perseverance;  

and to perseverance, godliness..."

2 Peter 1:5-6

Losing weight is a national pastime in this country where everyone, it seems, needs to lose a few pounds.  When you are trying to lose weight, you see on television, billboards, and constant advertisements touting various quick-fixes for shedding the pounds:  the lettuce diet, the Scarsdale diet, the Mediterranean diet, weight loss pills, weight-loss teas, vibrating bands that will shake it all off, acai berries, core precision undershirts, appetite suppressant lollipops, various herbal preparations, and last but certainly not least, anti-cellulite pants [there are certainly many, many other].  Everyone wants to lose as much weight as possible with the least amount of effort on their part or changes in their everyday eating.  Eventually, you learn that none of this junk works for the long haul, and that losing weight takes a lifestyle change - a lifelong commitment to healthy living - changing the way you eat and changing the way you move.   

Godliness is the same way.  There are preachers, teachers, televangelists and quacks who promulgate the use of a specific prayer, following a certain code, reading a particular book, attending a workshop, donating lots of money - do this, do that – and you will be filled with godliness.  Just like losing weight, however, there is no quick fix for gaining godliness.  It takes a lifetime commitment to follow in the footsteps of Christ: spending quality time with the Father, and pouring out His love on the people around you.  Godliness means "God likeness," and the only way we become like Christ is to allow Him to pour out His life into us.

Patient Perseverance

Copyright 2012:  singeronthesand

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness;

and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge,

self-control; and to self-control, perseverance..."

1 Peter 1:5-6 

Perseverance [King James-patience]: In the Greek: hupŏmōnē

Cheerful or hopeful endurance, constancy, enduring,

patience, patient continuance, waiting

One of the worst [and best!] things that you can own in this world is a credit card.  Credit cards allow you to have things now that you would otherwise have to wait for.  No money?  No problem - dig out the plastic.  Credit card company jingles - "What's in your wallet?" - fill the airwaves and are recognizable to almost everyone, including kids.  Buy now - pay later.  What a great concept!  You can have anything you want, when you want it, as long as you still have spendable space on your card.

Once you have everything you want, however, you have to pay for it [with interest!], and the monthly payments can be a real killer.  The statistics are mindboggling: 609.8 million credit cards are held by US consumers (average of 3.5 cards per person) with a revolving debt balance of $801 billion as of December 2011.  The average debt load per credit card household is $15,956. The statistics are unbelievable, but the situation in many, many families is all too real.  There is a high price to pay when you cannot wait for something until you have the cash to pay for it (what an old-fashioned concept!).

Peter didn't own a credit card, and he was not talking about living within your means when he recommended developing patience/endurance/perseverance.  When we pray, we must wait patiently for God's answer.  When we claim God's promises, we must wait patiently for the promised blessing.  The apostle Paul wrote that we must "run with patience the race that is set before us...," living in passionate continuance as we wait for the hope of ages - the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ.